


Horizon was a shit hole

by BlueTeaParty



Series: The Asshole and his Cinnamon Rolls [9]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Immediately post-Horizon, M/M, Tali joined the SR2 before Horizon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22099030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueTeaParty/pseuds/BlueTeaParty
Summary: Maric encountered Kaidan on Horizon and it didn't go well. Tali is left to pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard, Male Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Series: The Asshole and his Cinnamon Rolls [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/969144
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Horizon was a shit hole

Maric had mixed feelings on the fiasco that was Horizon. Seeing Kaidan again had been both exhilarating and heart breaking. He understood the other sentinel’s reluctance to join with him. Hell, if he had a choice, he’d be there with him.

For the moment though, it was too much. He just needed a moment to just not _feel_.

It had been weeks since he had been revived. Much of that time had been a whirlwind, no time to actually contemplate his resurrection. Beyond cursing at Miranda and Jacob, recruiting several losers to the SR-2 and being thoroughly stonewalled by Anderson, his thoughts had revolved around how he’d gun the fucking Illusive Man down and shove a biotic foot up his ass.

But now? Seeing his boyfriend again? _Is he still my boyfriend?_

Trying to find Kaidan had been one of his priorities. But now…it was like someone had stabbed him in the heart.

He snorted. Fuck that. He’d never been a sentimental shithead before, so why start now?

_You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me._

His heart clenched, and Maric sunk to his knees gasping for air. He hadn’t betrayed anyone! He had given up everything for the Alliance, served for so many years and this fucking ghost of the SR1 was the last place he wanted to be. Why did it hurt so much?

_I know where my loyalties lie._

The same place his did. Fuck. A keening wail slipped through his lips, as he gripped his shoulder where the Cerberus logo laid. He wanted to rip it off, scratch through skin that felt far too tight and lay waste to everything aboard this ship.

He was pathetic.

“Shepard!”

Maric looked up from his place on the floor, through eyes that were watery. What the fuck? Was he fucking crying? “Tali,” he croaked out. “I - ”

“Sssh, it’s okay Maric, but give me a moment.” Tali tapped her omni-tool, calling up her drone. “Chiktikka, bug shield.”

The drone buzzed, before a wave of blue light enveloped the both of them. It buzzed, the drone turning over before beeping that it was done.

Tali dropped herself to the floor, enveloping him in her arms. “I’m here Maric.”

He wasted no more time, throwing his arms around her small body. Sobs began to rack his body, in a way he could not remember ever before. The walls that had held him intact, seemed to crumble and to his dismay, let a long whine, as if he were a wounded animal. In a way, he supposed he was. Tali held him in silence, merely rocking him slowly, allowing him to expel his grief.

Finally, the tears stopped. He felt hollow but safe, wrapped in the quarian’s arms. This was Tali and that she would never hurt him, ignoring the voices that told him that he had once thought that about Kaidan, he opened his mouth once more, “He left me.”

“I know,” Tali whispered in reply.

“I can’t believe he left me,” Maric repeated. He blinked, taking note that he was practically lying in the quarian’s lap. Her hand was trailing through his hair and his eyes closed again. Safe. She was safe.

“What will you do now?”

He shrugged. “What the Illusive Man wants I suppose. Go on a suicide mission. Defeat the collectors. At least…at least I don’t have to worry about…Kaidan…dying. Fucking asshole. Can’t believe I ever loved the fucker.”

“You don’t really believe that,” Tali murmured.

Maric sighed. “No, you’re right, I don’t. Fucker actually still manages to impress me.” His eyes flicked to Tali’s visor, studied the alien eyes behind the purple glass. He smiled. “I fell for him because he could stand up to me, he wasn’t ever afraid of me. I shouldn’t be surprised that he wouldn’t join. Hell, If I had a choice, I wouldn’t fucking be here either.”

Tali nodded; her soft body pressed against him. She was a comforting presence, always had been. On the SR1, many a night had been spent with the three of them, talking about various tech, both with military applications and other. They were pleasant memories. “He will come around Maric. I can promise that. Seeing you again after two years of believing you were dead…it was a little confronting.”

“Yeh, two fucking years…gone.” Maric grunted, his hand curling into a fist. Tali gently wrapped her own around it. He blinked, feeling a little of the pain and rage abate. “I wish he were here,” he whispered.

Tali pressed her hand against her helmet where her lips lay, and then pressed those fingers against his forehead. Maric closed his eyes and smiled. Grasping her fingers, he pressed his lips to them in thanks. More than thanks? He didn’t really know at the moment; whatever he felt towards her was young, a flame that had yet to be ignited. On the SR1, he had been too taken with Kaidan to notice anyone else. But Tali…she had always been there, with him, right in the thick of battle. His grief about Kaidan though…

“We should probably get up,” he murmured.

“I’ll head back down to engineering if you’re okay?” Tali cocked her head, questioning.

He shook his own. “Stay. Please. I don’t want to be alone.”

Tali nodded, “If that is your wish.”

Maric slumped, relief washing over him. She helped him off the floor, and together they walked towards his couch. He could allow one night of weakness.

Behind them, the computer flashed an unnoticed message.

_Kaidan Alenko. Re.Horizon…_


End file.
